"Scientists warn that unless greenhouse gas emissions are significantly and rapidly reduced..." etc etc.

And other scientists warn that the whole global warming campaign is about as credible as George W. Bush saying "Mission Accomplished." Neither you nor me nor Kevin Rudd is in a position to know for sure, but hopefully our PM is bright enough not to bet the farm on global warming until there is a little more evidence -- like the global warming models successfully predicting 2009's average temperature, for instance. Until the matter is really settled (and you don't achieve that just by saying 'It's settled') Rudd is right to take small cautious steps.

There are lots of good reasons to reduce our reliance on oil -- not being held to ransom by religious fanatics, for instance -- but global warming is not yet one of them.

Mike Pope, All my 61 years on this planet people have been tellimg me that we are all going to die. The world did not start when you were born Mike look at history people like you have been telling people like me that WE are all going to die! Except you always manage to make a living out of it. When you blokes drop superannuation and tax-free status then I will worry lol.
As for the postperson (?) who is worrying about the Great Barrier Reef he needs to look at the history of the planet. 15 thousand years ago one of the many ice ages ended and the GBR was there and is still there.
Don't worry, be happy no one believes you blokes and as soon as they realise you are buying waterfront land they will will be angry and watch what our PM does then, you will all be consigned to the dustbin of history ehrtr you all belong. Don't forget to read a bit of history Mike you are not the first and you will not be the last!

KRudd's policies will make little or no difference to the Earth's temperature (whether or not AGW is real), but will have two significant adverse effects - damaging the Australian economy and increasing the scope of government interference in the lives and economic affairs of Australians. Much to my surprise, I agree with Barnaby Joyce that KRudd's all-pain, no-gain ETS should be strongly opposed.

JBowyer

Fifteen thousand years ago, this planet did not have to cope with 6.7 billion homo-sapiens – the greatest predators of all.

Our population has doubled from 3 billion to over 6 billion in the last 40 years. We currently have an annual growth rate of some 1.40%, which means in excess of an additional 78 million people born every year.

Most ecosystems in past centuries have had the ability to self-remediate – but thanks to man, this is not occurring. We, are hurtling towards the cliff’s edge – the sixth extinction has emerged where tens of thousands of species have become extinct in a very short period.

• Human overpopulation
• Decreasing biodiversity
• Pollution of air, water and soil
• Increasing extreme weather events
• Extinction of 10,000 to 100,000 species every year
• Loss of Rain Forests
• Livestock pollution (about 60 billion)
Desertification

And successive ignorant and avaricious masters!

The global energy cartel is imperiling the world's environment and economic stability in a greedy grab for profits that is empowered by a heavy investment of campaign contributions and corporate connections with media conglomerates. And Mr Five Percent is up to his eyeballs in it.

And this week in WA, thousands of dead birds dropped from the skies. Global warming or pollution? Of course that catastrophe does not compare with a mining company’s record in December 2007, a company responsible for killing 9,000 native birds with lead in WA. The media claims 4,000. The Parliamentary Enquiry report clearly states 9,000.

Daviy. Good suggestion. EPA Acts have incorporated guidelines for maximum emissions of toxic chemicals. They have been completely ignored since they were legislated. All that is needed is enforcement and conditions placed in each licence - and a CITIZENS' WATCHDOG! Unfortunately, EPAs, Environment Agencies and governments are sycophants to the big polluters. They continue to prostitute themselves at this nation's expense - one of the most arid and desecrated on the planet.

Mike Pope writes; “The Rudd Government justifies its 5 per cent target on the grounds that it represents a significant emissions reduction of almost 25 per cent per capita.”

So our fandangled PM is actually saying that the massive immigration rate that he has wrought upon us is just about enough to cancel out a 25% per-capita reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020!

“This is based on the assumption that Australia will have a population of more than 31 million by 2020, an increase of 45 per cent above the present population level.”

The sums don’t add up. With a population increase of 45% and an average per-capita reduction of 25%, we’d end up with emissions being 8.5% higher than they are now!

This massive rate of population growth “sits oddly with a government which, as part of its election campaign promised us a well reasoned population policy - a policy it has yet to publish or deliver.”

Not only has Rudd failed to deliver on this vitally important promise, he upped immigration enormously with no mention of it before the election and with no public (?or expert) consultation, very quickly after the election.

We’ve been enormously dudded by our illustrious PM folks!

So now we’ve got a situation where it seems that we are totally hooked into terribly rapidly increasing pressure on our environment and resource base, and which will make meaningful national CO2 emissions cuts just completely bloody impossible….and make us look like a pariah state in a world full of scientific experts, politicians and ordinary people that are desperate to get some significant progress happening on climate change.

We DESPERATELY need the formation of a sustainability party, which can go up against our ‘business-as-usual’ populist PM at the next election…..and relegate him to oblivion!

Dickie
For Goodness sake have a Bex and a lie down.
Extintion of 10,000 to 100,000 speies a year? You are deranged.
Extreme Climate events? Try reading a little Australian History of the last two hundred years.
Livestock pollution? Oh I get it, you are one of the Green Nazi Vegans who think we all have to agree with you.
Look read some history and even a bit of biology and find out what all the microbes on this planet have been doing and are still doing. That biomas beats the heck out of us 6.7 billion predators. You have to read more, find out about what has happened and I agree with the post when this UN army can predict the 2009 weather then they can expect respect. Producing thousand of tonnes of printed reports and being paid handsomley for this is not going to cut it for the rest of us. I told you read history. We were all going to die in the nuclear war then starve to death (That is even making a come back) line em up and we will still show the resilence that defeats you tyrants.